i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a historic support and outreach programme for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector. As part of this programme, the Prime Minister unveiled12 key initiatives which will help the growth, expansion and facilitation of MSMEs across the country.

iii. There are five key aspects for facilitating the MSME sector. These include 1. access to credit, 2. access to market, 3. technology upgradation, 4. ease of doing business, and 5. a sense of security for employees.

Key Highlights:

PM unveils 12 key initiatives

59 minute loan portal to enable easy access to credit for MSMEs

Mandatory 25 percent procurement from MSMEs by CPSEs

Ordinance for simplifying procedures for minor offences under Companies Act.

i. Armies of India and Japan began their first-ever joint military exercise‘Dharma Guardian- 2018’ at a jungle warfare school in Mizoram’s Vairengte with a focus on strengthening counter-terror cooperation.ii. The focus of the two-week-long exercise will be to enhance tactical skills against global terrorism and increase interoperability between the two forces. The Japanese contingent is represented by 32nd Infantry Battalion, while the Indian side by 6/1 Gorkha Rifles.

Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB)

General Bipin Rawat is the present Chief of Army Staff.

3. INS Viraat To Become A Floating Museum

i. The Maharashtra Cabinet has approved the conversion of decommissioned carrier INS Viraat into a floating museum. As per primary estimates, the project worth 852 crore rupees will be implemented through public-private-partnership (PPP).ii. The decision has been taken to elicit interest among the school and college students in the marine sector. Besides, it will make the new generation familiar with the glorious history of INS Viraat.

4. IAMAI Forms AR/VR Committee To Promote Technologies in India

i. The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has formed a new industry expert committee to develop and promote an augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) ecosystem in India. i. The committee is chaired by Namrita Mahindro, Senior General Manager, digital transformation, Mahindra Group and co-chaired by Satyajeet Singh, Head –Strategic Product Partnership, India and South Asia, Facebook.

i. The Ministry of Railways launched the ‘Unreserved Mobile Ticketing’ facility (UTS on Mobile) to enable seamless booking of unreserved tickets all over Indian Railways, wiping out the need for passengers to wait in queues for purchasing the tickets.ii. With this, the booking of unreserved tickets on all non-suburban sections across all Zonal Railways will now be made available on mobile. This move aims to promote three C’:
1. Cashless transactions.
2. Contactless ticketing (no need to physically visit the point of sale).
3. Customer convenience and experience.

Piyush Goyal is the present Railways Minister of India.

John Mathai was the 1st railways Minister of Independent India.

6. Shakti : India’s First Indigenous Microprocessor Created By IIT-Madras

i. The Indian Institute of Technology Madras has designed and booted up ‘Shakti’, which can be used for wireless and networking systems, as well as mobile computing. ‘Shakti’ is India’s first and indigenous microprocessor. Bluespec, an open-source high-level synthesis language was used in making the chips.

ii. The concept to design the chip was germinated in 2011 and some preliminary works were carried out. In 2017, the project gained speed with about Rs 11 crore funding from the Indian government.

7. MoU Signed Between OMCs and CSC SPV For Collaboration in LPG Services

i. An MoU for collaboration in LPG services was signed between Oil Marketing Companies (IOCL, HPCL & BPCL) and CSC e-Governance Services India Limited in presence of Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Law & Justice and Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) and ShriDharmendraPradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development &Entrepreneurship.ii. CSC SPV and OMCs have agreed to facilitate their distributors to avail the following services through Common Services Centers:

8. 1st WHO Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health Held in Geneva

i. The First WHO Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health took place at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.ii. The conference was organized in collaboration with UN Environment, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC), the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the World Bank and the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

i. Joint Secretary (Films), Ministry of I&B Shri Ashok Kumar Parmar inaugurated the India Pavilion at Videocittà, 2018 in Rome Film Festival.ii. India was partner country at Videocittà 2018, an event focussing on Virtual Reality, Video gaming, Animation, Film Making, etc. was organized along with Rome Film Festival and the International Audio Visual Market.

10. Atul Goel Takes Over As MD And CEO Of UCO Bank

i. Atul Kumar Goel assumed charge as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (UCO) of UCO Bank. Prior to this assignment, he was executive director of Union Bank of India.ii. Goel takes over from R K Takkar who completed his three-year tenure on November 1, 2018.